Not really. I use 1.1GB idle and 1.1GB when playing TF2. You know why? Because Vista preloads things into RAM. If you don't have the RAM, it wont use it. It's not a resource hog, like you speak.Yes, there is something wrong with it... look at the ridiculous amount of resources it uses, the lack of app compatibility, etc etc etc. If the tech guy is really that ignorant...
The worst "compatibility issue" I had was a program switching to non-aero mode.